Students participating in the fall trip to Churchill have been excitedly preparing for this years arctic research trip! Not only does this trip include scientific research alongside Dr. Jane Waterman and students from multiple schools, the students are also given the opportunity to learn about the culture and people who inhabit this beautiful place.
Included in our preparations was the privilege to sew our own moccassins with Carole Fréchette. Over the last couple weeks we have spent hours and hours beading our moccasins and are now working on putting them together to create a pair of moccasins!
Carole Fréchette is French-speaking Métis, originally from St. Malo, Manitoba. When she was twelve years old, her mother began teaching her how to make mukluks, moccasins, mitts, and medicine pouches. Carole has taught workshops throughout Winnipeg through the City of Winnipeg Leisure Guide, Indigenous Organizations and the Winnipeg School Division since 1998.
It is so special for us to learn a skill that so little of us have had the opportunity to try, as well as one that is so important and beautiful to another culture. Carole not only taught us how to do the sewing, but also gave teachings of respect, beauty, difficulty, loss, and especially perserverance. Though some of us were doubtful our beading would turn out how we wanted it to, Carole was encouraging, attentive, and helpful! We are grateful for this opportunity and look forward to spending more time on it during our long train ride tomorrow as we embark on our journey to Churchill!
Included in our preparations was the privilege to sew our own moccassins with Carole Fréchette. Over the last couple weeks we have spent hours and hours beading our moccasins and are now working on putting them together to create a pair of moccasins!
Carole Fréchette is French-speaking Métis, originally from St. Malo, Manitoba. When she was twelve years old, her mother began teaching her how to make mukluks, moccasins, mitts, and medicine pouches. Carole has taught workshops throughout Winnipeg through the City of Winnipeg Leisure Guide, Indigenous Organizations and the Winnipeg School Division since 1998.
It is so special for us to learn a skill that so little of us have had the opportunity to try, as well as one that is so important and beautiful to another culture. Carole not only taught us how to do the sewing, but also gave teachings of respect, beauty, difficulty, loss, and especially perserverance. Though some of us were doubtful our beading would turn out how we wanted it to, Carole was encouraging, attentive, and helpful! We are grateful for this opportunity and look forward to spending more time on it during our long train ride tomorrow as we embark on our journey to Churchill!